Embodiments of the present invention relate to a novel and/or useful system and apparatus for tuning any acoustic drum. Drums are comprised of several simple components including a drum head, most commonly made of a plastic material called Mylar, which include a rigid rim, generally made of a metallic material. The drum shell; most often made of layers of laminated wood, acrylic, aluminum, fiberglass or carbon fiber and/or formed to a cylindrical shape with two open ends. The drum head is stretched over the drum shell by means of a multiplicity of evenly spaced bolts inserted through holes around the diameter of a ring often made of stamped steel, die cast zinc, aluminum or wood known as the hoop. These bolts are threaded into what are commonly referred to as lugs which are generally attached to the drum shell by bolts inserted through holes drilled into the drum shell. Evenly adjusting the tension of these individual bolts causes the drum head to be tuned either higher or lower in pitch.
The current and/or most commonly used standard for tuning drums is best depicted by U.S. Design Pat. Fuji D350,362, incorporated by reference herein. Referred to as the drum hoop, it includes a plurality of evenly spaced holes for bolts to be inserted through, in order to exert tension on the drum head, and having an overall shape designed to fit over the drum head. U.S. Design Pat. D339,818, incorporated by reference herein, is an example of lugs which are fastened to the drum shell and/or serve as anchors for the bolts inserted through the drum hoop previously described. Some of the earliest designs of this current hoop can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 794,658 dated Jul. 11, 1905, incorporated by reference herein, which depicts a combination of L cross section or “angle iron” rings, one with the vertical with surface facing upward, the other overlapping the horizontal surface and/or its vertical surface facing downward with holes about the horizontal flange for clamping down the drumhead. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 899,488 dated Sep. 22, 1908 has an inverted U shaped Cross Section with evenly spaced holes around its perimeter. One of the first early modern designs is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,940 dated Dec. 7, 1926, which appears to feature a one piece counterhoop having an “L” cross section, the horizontal flange having evenly spaced holes for clamping the drum head to the open end of the drum shell. U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,311 describes an invention that was designed as an improvement to the traditional drum hoop, having an inward facing horizontal annular surface at the top of the hoop that provides protection to the bearing edge of the drum shell, and also increases rigidity of the drum hoop.
Using traditional drum hoops and methods, to evenly apply tension to the drum head to set the correct pitch takes a great amount of time and skill, often being time consuming and frustrating. To deal with this problem, systems for tuning drums have been proposed simplify this common task. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,952 is comprised of a large counter-hoop with a plurality of inward facing slides angled to act as ramps which ride on rollers or matching opposing slides fastened to the drum shell. It is tuned by rotating the counter-hoop clockwise or counterclockwise using a rack and pinion activation system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,448 is comprised of an inverted J-shaped counter-hoop, which engages an externally threaded, outwardly facing tuning rim surface on a tuning collar that is secured to the drum shell. Clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the counter-hoop is accomplished by a pair of gears, one for gross tuning, and/or one for fine tuning.
US patent describes the undersigned inventor's improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,952. The system and apparatus described U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,419 utilizes a V Clamping mechanism which engages a counter-hoop which has a downwardly and outwardly extending flange which bears on the drum head and a flanged ring fastened to the drum shell, its flange portion inclined upwards and outwards. The V clamp ring surrounds the drum shell and engages the outwardly extending portions of the counter-hoop, and the shell hoop. The V hoop contains a breach, tightening a bolt connecting the breached area draws the two hoops together and applies tension to the drum head.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,777,112 uses an outer ring attached to the drum shell with threads on the inner diameter. An inner ring which has a thread on the outside diameter engages the outer ring's threads. A lower inner ring which is separated by ball bearings rides on the rim of the drum head. Rotating the inner ring increases or decreases the tension on the drum head.
One of the undersigned inventor's first solution to simplifying tuning was described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,138,574, incorporated by reference herein. This '574 drum tuning system is comprised of three annular members o-rings. The first annular member is the cam ring which utilizes a single spiraling track or helical around its outside diameter starting at the top of the spiral cam ring spiraling down and exiting at the bottom and is fastened to the cylindrical drum shell in the vicinity near the opened end of the drum shell. The second ring is a smaller inner counter-hoop having vertical and horizontal surfaces which form an L cross section. The third ring is a larger outer rotating actuator ring has inward facing horizontal surface atop the vertical surface forming an inverted L cross section and encompasses the spiral cam ring parallel to the spiral track or helical at its outside diameter. Inward facing rollers or wheels mounted on its vertical surface of the inside diameter engages the track or helical of the cam ring. The rotating actuator's inverted L cross section overlaps the L cross section of the inner counter-hoop, and the two rings are separated by bearings or rollers to reduce friction while twisting the rotating actuator ring clockwise or counterclockwise. The camming effect increases or decreases the downward force on the inner counter-hoop which bears down on the outer rim of the drum head when fitted over the open end of the drum shell, thereby tuning the drum. Embodiments of the invention described in '574 mainly focused on certain mechanical aspects of altering the tension of a drum head efficiently and/or accurately.
One of the undersigned inventor's second U.S. Pat. No. 7,501,567, incorporated by reference herein, had many improvements which included a method for attaching the tuning system to a drum shell and used eccentrics on the lugs to raise and/or lower the cam ring. Another improvement was the addition of a horizontal radius plate with holes for a drum stick to engage and/or be used as a leverage point stationary in relation to the drum shell. A tool was devised which hooked on “cleats” mounted on the lower vertical walls of the rotation actuator ring. A drum stick can be used for leverage against the tool while engaging the holes in the stationary radius plate and thereby facilitates movement of the rotating actuator ring, which in turn tunes the drum. The inner hoop and rotating actuator ring are completely separate. The rotating actuator ring has vertical bosses with inward facing rim rollers which ride on the horizontal surface of the inner hoop. A mounting system for mounting the drum in a stand used horizontal bolts and/or rubber grommets to allow for maximum resonance.